Edify Sport Horses

02/04/2024

Ill be opening up a few extra spaces now for the quiet season, so get in touch if you’re needing schooling or breaking in, will take on select sale on behalfs.

Also, have limited time available for catch rides/handling and hoof trimming too, within 40mins of Christchurch unless multiple horses booked.😊

28/03/2024

OnBehalf…
Karbon Kopy
17hh
2013
Warmblood Gelding
By Royal Mirage
Out of Gentos(Centavos)

Snoopy is looking for his next best friend, we will be very picky with his new home as he’s dearly loved.

Located in Prebbleton, Christchurch
0211731277(leave a message or txt as I may be out working)

Trademe ad in Comments

30/11/2023

Due to some cancellations this month I have 2 spaces available!

I’ll be working right through Christmas/New years, if you’re planning on going away it’d be an ideal time to book in some schooling!

Come home to a freshly tuned up
horse/pony✨

29/11/2023

Gorgeous Joe is still here waiting for some viewings!
There’s got to be plenty people out there wanting a genuine stockhorse type that’s eager to do his job and as wise as they come?!

24/11/2023

Cute wee breaker Indy having a play in the sandpit!

I do love being small enough to ride little ponies still🥰

23/11/2023

Joe is ready for viewings!
Such a genuine kind guy ❤️

Joe 15.2hh 17yr old Gelding Joe is a lovely kind genuine guy, he’s fantastic to handle in every way, a true gentleman! He’s an ex-Polo Cross horse and ...

19/11/2023

My Gizzybred mare Kasha, having a play in the round pen

19/11/2023

🙏🏽

Let’s talk viewings…

I signed myself up for them when I took on sales as a job and that’s ok it came with the job description. It seems it’s expected I am available 24/7, public holidays and weekends are the prime time to view and late evenings to fit in with people after work is a given. What shouldn’t be expected from me and seems to be currently is not respecting when I genuinely can’t fit you in at no notice, coming for free pony rides when you aren’t actually in a position to buy, disappearing off planet earth never to be heard from again and absolutely thrashing the horses in the name of getting a feel.

If you have ever watched a professional try a horse you’ll notice the large majority get a quick feel on the flat, jump a handful of fences without breaking any height records and give the horse a nice experience without working them into the ground and leaving them a lathered mess. A viewing is not the time to see how high a horse can jump, push every button you think you can find and leave the horse overwhelmed and feeling a bit pressure cooked from the experience. Remember it’s also their first time meeting you.

A viewing is meant to be is an opportunity to see if you are possibly going to work as a partnership in the future, to see if you like the feel you get from the horse and then it’s up to you to decide if it’s something you would like to continue to develop heading forwards.

If you are going to be viewing a horse any time soon here’s a few tips.

- Be respectful of peoples time, show up when you say you are going to and send a text if you are going to be early or late or not come at all. We have plenty going on in our days without you turning up randomly 45 mins either side of the appointment time.

- Don’t pick the horses to pieces, we are aware of their shortcomings and we really don’t need to hear you list everything that’s short of perfect with them just to justify why you might not want to buy them or with the thought you’ll make us drop the price.

- Make sure you are actually in a position to buy. Please don’t come if you have a horse to sell first or need to sort the finances unless we have had a conversation prior.

- Be fair to the horse. Have a good enough ride you get a feel but you really don’t need to trot 72 circles, canter 50 laps of the arena and jump 200 fences to get an idea.

- Communicate. Fairly self explanatory but surprisingly not well done… We don’t care if you don’t want the horse but have the decency to flick us a quick message and say thanks but no thanks. I’d be lucky to hear back from 40% of the viewings that come through here. Usually the ones that are trickiest to work in with are the ones you never hear from again afterwards and people wonder why I’m starting to get fussy with my time!

- Be realistic about your abilities and what you are looking for. Don’t show up to try a green 6yr old and then pull it to pieces when it goes like a green one. If you are a nervous nellie don’t come and look at a quirky one, if you want a world be**er don’t turn up with a 5k budget 🤷🏽‍♀️

This is a topic I could go on about for days but I think that’s enough of a ramble to get started!

Welcome to share but please don’t copy and paste and take my words as your own!

15/11/2023

My WB mare Izzy, her first time doing some round pen work🥰

11/11/2023

Texas having her second ride in the round pen today.

Can never do too much groundwork, It’s set her up to deal with whatever chaos is going on!
We had squealing kids running up to the fence and a birthday party going on with a bouncy castle too, along with a digger right outside the pen, all on a very windy day🙈

Katrina Mcpherson

09/11/2023

Joes first ride in over a year!

I’ve been told that Joe can buck for the first ride, if not lunged for 30mins beforehand.

For the purpose of selling him on honestly, I wanted to see what he would do, so climbed straight on after lunging him for less than 2mins.
He just felt cold backed and worried that I’d rush him off, he’s jumpy and sensitive about me wriggling the saddle around in the beginning but settled in ok and wasn’t sensitive/jumpy after he warmed up.
Very forward and quick on his feet, he’s an ex polocross horse!

FYI- This is not how I deal with/train problem horses, I purely wanted to be a passenger and see what he’d throw!

08/11/2023

Meet Joe!
A wee sneak peak at this handsome fellow here to find a new home.
He arrived happy and chilled out, very gentleman like!

I’ll be giving him a week of schooling and pushing his buttons to see what he’s about/who he is, then will give him a proper introduction. 👀

07/11/2023

Miss Tessa has also landed on her feet in her new home, Pampered pony!!

Been great to have her back for schooling and to get her into a new home ❤️

05/11/2023

Hope everyone’s surviving this summer weather!
My mares have lost the plot, breaking into the tack room demanding treats and giving me a front row seat to some wicked dance moves (less than a few meters from me!)
Thanks ladies🙈

02/11/2023

Tessa is now available FREE to a fabulous home!

Absolutely nothing wrong her, owner’s circumstances have changed and she needs to find a new home ASAP.

She’s a sweet mare but definitely on the hotter side to school, however settles when she understands what to do and is lovely to jump!

Get in contact for more info and videos, cracking little mare with a great jump in her!

31/10/2023

Big lad Snoopy is coming into work now and will be looking for his new home!👀

Feel free to message me for info now, or sit tight for his official ad🤩

24/10/2023

Tessa is still available!
Trademe ad linked below.

Edify Sport Horses Selling On Behalf… Tessa Racename: Little Miss DOB: 30/10/2013 15.2hh (approximately) By ‘Duelled’ Out of ‘Oriental Miss’ Tessa...

16/10/2023

Videos available
In full work and ready for viewings!

13/10/2023

A sneak peak at Tessa, looking for a new postcode! 👀

Previously known as Missy, I sold her just over a year ago and she’s back now to find her next best friend.

15.2hh(approx) TB Mare

Show Quality
Jumping potential

Had a solo outing and her first jump school today, very brave and talented wee jumper!
Definitely see her excelling in Showjumping or Eventing but equally very pretty and showy so park hack ring?!

Will get her trademe ad up over the weekend but feel free to get in contact for more info/videos/photos✨

21/09/2023

With the move to Prebbleton sorted and the paddocks all filled up, I thought it was time introduce the latest addition to the team, a cheeky birthday present to myself!🙈

Madam Izzy!
14yr old Warmblood mare by Laudallander(Littorio)
16.2/3hh

Izzy hasn’t done very much in her younger years, has seen herself in multiple different homes over the last year and had a lovely foal to GT Jake for the previous home.

She’s a very loving kind mare and absolutely laps up the everyday attention.
I’ve begun bringing her into work with the intention of getting her out & about to experience the world!
A late start to life but she seems happy and eager to have a job and settle into a permanent home.

First weeks notes-
🐷• She loves her food
💃🏽• Very big fancy movement hidden under all the greenness!
😈• Thinks she’s too cool for school
💇🏻‍♀️• Where’s her forelock?!
🐲• Quite erratic to mount
💎• A diamond in the rough

15/09/2023

Especially important for those off the trackers!
I don’t even get on my tbs until they have mastered and spent at least 3 weeks doing long, low, stretchy and RELAXED work on the lunge.
Believe me! They are totally different animals to sit on and school.

Try it at home with your horses, they’ll thank you!!

Why we should ride young horses forward and down...

It is a commonly accepted training principle that we should encourage young horses to have a low head carriage. But why is this?

The muscles of the horses back are still immature at 3,4 and even at 5 years old. This is a combination of being developmentally (age related), and physically immature, in the sense that they lack the muscle condition which comes from years of training-induced exercise. Of course the maturity of their muscles will come naturally with time, and as we work them through groundwork and under saddle. But how can we get to this point, while protecting these fundamentally weak muscles and avoiding musculoskeletal injuries further down the line?

By utilising the passive ligament mechanism, we can allow the horse to support the back and carry the weight of the rider with very little muscular effort. This allows the epaxial muscles of the back to be free to perform their primary functions in movement, rather than acting as weight lifters.

The passive ligament system of the back is primarily composed of, well ligaments, the nuchal and supraspinous ligament to be exact.

The nuchal ligament is a strong, collagenous structure, originating at the extensor process of the occiput (the back of the skull), forming attachments to the cervical vertebrae, before inserting on the spinous process of the fourth thoracic vertebrae. Here the nuchal ligament broadens in the region of the withers, before continuing as the supraspinous ligament running along the top of the spinous processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae and terminating in the sacral region of the spine.

This creates an inverse relationship between the position of the head and neck and the balance between flexion and extension of the spine.

Generally speaking, lowering the head induces flexion in the thoracic region (the back is lifted) and conversely, raising the head creates extension in the thoracic region (the back hollows/drops). This is because the elongation of the strong and elastic nuchal ligament created when the head is lowered, creates a forward traction on the high spinous processes of the withers, and travels through the supraspinous ligament to lift the thoracic region of the spine. Comparatively, shortening of the ligament raises the head.

This system has provided an evolutionary advantage to the horse, as while they are grazing, the weight of the thorax and abdomen is supported passively by the ligament with very little muscular effort over long periods of time (up to the 16-19 hours per day they can spend grazing in the wild). Equally, because of the stored elastic potential energy in the liagement when it is stretched for the head to be at ground level, the horse can quickly raise its head to gallop away at the first sign of a predator.

Furthermore, lowering of the head and neck, stretching downwards and forwards, straightens out the natural S curve of the horse's spine. This lifts the bottom of the S curve, the cervico-thoracic junction and the ribcage, which creates lightness in the forequarters when the horse is moving. Further back, flexion in the thoracic region, increases the spacing between the dorsal spinous processes as the most dorsal aspect of the spine is stretched out. This posture is particularly therapeutic for horses with kissing spines.

In fact, the degree of flexion of the back is most marked between the 5th and 9th thoracic vertebrae, but is also significant between the 9th and 14th. Consequently, the arching and lifting of the back takes place directly under the saddle and therefore works to support the rider.

This is particularly useful in young horses; it allows the young horse, whose muscles are not mature enough to carry the rider, the chance to support its back and lift the weight of the rider by moving the head-neck axis rather than using active muscle contraction.

This means that the horse can use its muscles solely for movement; creating a loose, swinging back, free of tension, and suppleness in the gait.

Here we have the opportunity for us to slowly develop and condition the epaxial musculature of the young horse. Which will create a foundation of strength and suppleness of the back and the core to support more advanced movements later in their career.

Comparatively, if this system is not used, and the young horse is pulled into a shortened outline, it is the Longissimus Dorsi muscle which takes up the role of supporting the weight of the rider. But theLongissimus Dorsi is not designed for weight carrying, it is primarily a movement muscle.

Muscles act in the direction through which their fibres flow; the Longissimus Dorsi works in the horizontal plane, originating in the sacral and lumbar region of the spine and inserting through the lumbar, thoracic and ending in the cervical region. The Longissimus Dorsi primarily acts to extend and stabilise the entire spine, while also acting unilaterally to induce lateral flexion of the back. You can see the Longissimus Dorsi in action when watching a horse moving from above; the large muscle contracts alternately on each side of the back in the rhythm of the gait to stabilise the movement.

Once the Longissimus Dorsi is required to lift the weight of the rider, the muscle becomes blocked and stiff. Muscles are designed to work through a process of contraction and relaxation; held too long in contraction (to carry the weight of a rider, or support a shortened outline) and the Longissimus Dorsi will fatigue. This will lead to muscle spasm and pain within the muscle. Not only will the horse lose the strength to carry the rider, but they will also lose the natural elasticity of the back which will reduce the fluidity of their gaits.

Over time with greater overuse and fatigue, the Longissimus Dorsi muscle will atrophy, requiring the recruitment of other muscles, such as the Iliocostalis, to take up the role of stabilising the back and supporting the weight of the rider. Other muscles which are equally not designed for weight lifting. And so the cycle continues and the performance of the horse suffers.

With this knowledge in mind, we can understand why it is so essential to make use of the passive ligament system, by striving for that forward and down head carriage. Furthermore, that we also allow our young horses regular breaks, working on a loose rein to allow our horse to come out of the outline, stretch out, and reduce the risk of fatigue.

I always marvel at the intricately designed systems of energy conservation to create efficiency in the horse's way of going. It is our role as a rider to have an awareness of and make use of these systems; to allow our horses to go in the most efficient and beneficial way for them possible, upholding their standard of welfare.

Image credit: Tug of War, Gerd Heuschmann

24/07/2023

❄️ Holiday Time! ❄️
Hope everyone is surviving this weather and ponies are all tucked up warm!

Im now off on holiday til mid August!
However, my books are mostly open for when I return, so flick me a message if you’re wanting to secure spots for spring.
Will also have multiple of my steeds hitting the market, keep an eye on this page for that if you’re 🦄 shopping.

Time to forget I own horses for a few weeks!
🥂🏂

04/07/2023

**SOLD**
Eventor Elegance Jump Saddle
$1000neg
17.5
Brown
Leather
Easy-Change Gullet System (same as wintec)
Currently has a Medium in it.
In good used condition

Awesome saddles, comfy and secure.
Always get comments about how nice it looks!

Only selling to fund other things.. 🛍️🤪
And I don’t really need multiple of the same saddle!

Pick up Christchurch, or can meet outside of town as I travel about a fair bit!

08/05/2023

Amen🙌🏽

30/04/2023

Rumba left for his new home yesterday, here he is settled and looking happy!

Was bittersweet sending him on his way, He’s been lovely to have around and I wish him all the best on his new ventures ❤️

19/04/2023

We have a couple spaces coming available this weekend!
Get in touch to book a space before they fill.

19/04/2023

***SOLD***
If you’re on the fence about trying Rumba I’d suggest booking a time to view him asap, He’s got multiple viewings lined up already!

Ideal first hack, return to riding or all round horse that the whole family can enjoy!

20/01/2020

⚜️National SJ Champs⚜️
Royal Ambition aka Kasha, jumped superbly on Saturday!
A nice bold clear round in the 1m for the win!
I popped her in the 1.10m to see how she feels about some bigger fences, she handled it very well until she tapped a rail and got a bit nervous, having two stops at the following fence but then continued the round happily afterwards! Big improvements for her, so I’m excited to see how she progresses further!
18/01/2020